I improved my form and I hope to be seen, Czech talent believes before the first big release – Sport.cz

He managed very well his first participation in the Olympic Games, when he finished in the fifteenth in the time trial and the road race. Vacek would now like to follow him at the Vuelta. “I already had self-confidence before Paris, and the Olympics turned out well. I still believe in myself now. I worked hard and now I want to sell the mold. I hope that all the hard work will show in the race and I will see as much as I can,” he said in an interview with the Sportegy group, which represents the riders of the Lidl-Trek team.

This year’s Vuelta has a very crazy profile, featuring another young Czech, Pavel Bittner, with a total of 3,265 kilometers with eight mountain stages and just one sprint stage. “It will definitely be challenging, but I’m not afraid of it. We had a three-week high training camp in Andorra, where we climbed a lot of altitude,” he said.

However, the native of Beroun especially looks forward to wavy levels with a classic image. “I’m going to focus on them, and some will leak,” he said. But he sees a good chance for a good result right away in the first individual time trial, of which there will be two in all “I’m looking forward to them, I want to fight for the highest levels,” explained Vacek.

He would also like to surprise in one of the group races. “We don’t have a sprinter at the Vuelta, so if I’m leading at the end, it’s going to be me. I’m also a little worried because the team has high expectations,” he said. However, he understands that he has a lot of work to do for his colleagues, and especially for the Danish director Mattias Skjelmose. “Yes I intend to go as one of the main households,” he explained.

Since the longest race of his “only” career is the nine-day Tour de l’Avenir for riders under the age of 23, he will also have to get used to the tactical side of the 21-stage Grand Tour. “It’s new to me, so I spent a lot of time with the coach. A rider must be ready for the team to ask him for a special task,” explained Vacek.

“The tactics are also done before each stage because some riders may not feel 100% every day, so you have to react and you have to rest. It is also important to be consistent and not to do stupid things. On the other hand, look at all the details so that possible errors do not appear in the next stages,” he explained.

However, he believes that he is well prepared for the premiere. “I think I embellished the form. Now I just need to sell the months of hard work before the Vuelta as much as possible,” said Vacek.